The Big Screen: Gary Cogill On Leaving The Critic’s Life To Enter The Movie Biz

The longtime WFAA movie critic talks about making the jump from reviewing movies to producing them and about Words and Pictures – a film he produced that’s out this week.

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In the new movie Words and Pictures, Juliette Binoche and Clive Owen play teachers who engage their students in a debate over which is more important: visual art or the written word. Former WFAA movie critic Gary Cogill is a producer of the film through his new company, Lascaux Films. He joins us this week to talk about making the jump from film critic to film producer – and about being on the back end of those reviews.

“Next thing you know [the film’s] made, and next thing you know, there’s a review. And you read it. And I almost crawled in the fetal position,” he said. “Because it’s really weird – nothing can prepare you for it. I think I’m over it now – I think I’m OK. But the first reviews out of the Toronto Film Festival were really hard for me to read. Because, ‘Oh they don’t get this!’ or ‘Oh they don’t get that!’ or ‘Well, why don’t you go make a movie!’ I used to hear that a lot when I reviewed films – why haven’t you made a movie? And you can’t use that.”

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Stephen Becker produces the shows Think and Anything You Ever Wanted to Know for KERA. As part of the Art&Seek team, Stephen produces radio and digital stories, along with the podcast "The Big Screen," with Chris Vognar, movie critic of The Dallas Morning News. View more about Stephen Becker.